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Race For The Galaxy

What are some of the best two player board games for date night? – Ask The Bellhop

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One of the first questions I answered here on the Tabletop Bellhop blog was "What are some good two player games?" This is, by far, the most popular post I've written. It's also one that I still get a lot of comments on. Many of those comments are asking me for more specific two player game recommendations. People want to know what are the best board games for couples, or games to play on date night.

Playing games is something my wife and I do together often. When we do have a night out without the kids it often involves a nice meal, some craft beer, and some gaming. Over the years we've found quite a few games that work great for when it's just the two of us. [ READ MORE ]

The Great Outdoors – Discussing Great Games to Bring Camping – Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

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 This is the 57th episode of the Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast, an edited version of our live show recorded on September 4th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm. Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio, you can also watch/listen to individual segments from this show on YouTube.

The Great Outdoors. We talk about what makes for a good game to bring on a camping trip and offer up 22 camping game recommendations. Also, two-player Sorcerer, Raiders of the North Sea with a new player and streaming online board game plays with Board Game Arena. [ READ MORE ]

Raiders of the North Sea, Sorcerer and Some Digital Board Game Arena Streaming – Tabletop Gaming Weekly

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I only got a couple of physical games to the tablet this week. The first was the fantastic Raiders of the North Sea from Renegade games and the second was a two-player game of Sorcerer from White Wizard Games.

I noted physical games because the other thing we did this past week is start something new. Thursday nights we're planning on live streaming some digital board game plays. This past Thursday Deanna, Sean and I played and live streamed a few rounds of Carcassonne played over Board Game Arena.
Besides streaming Carcassonne the three of us have also been trying out Through the Ages (the new edition) on BGA and enjoying it quite a bit. I also gave Kingdomino a try. Read on to see my thoughts on all of these games. [ READ MORE ]

The Games of Origins 2019 (and Some Other Highlights)

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This past week was the Origins Game Fair in Columbus Ohio. This is one of the biggest gaming conventions in North America and one of my favourite cons to attend every year.

This year was my first year attending Origins as press and that really changed the vibe for me. It was still a great time and I got to meet some great people and play some great games.
In this post, I'm going to try to recap some of the highlights of my week away at Origins. [ READ MORE ]

Race for the Galaxy Review, Revisited After 10 Years

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Today I'm resurrecting a review of the card game Race for the Galaxy for #ThrowbackThursday

This review was originally published on January 15th, 2009. It was written two days after I got the game for my birthday.
Below you will find my original Race for the Galaxy review,  with only very minor editing. I'm trying to keep the feel and tone of the original post. I will, at times, insert comments or corrections, and you will find these in [square brackets]. After the original post, you can find my current thoughts on the game. [ READ MORE ]

A Badge of Honour – Episode 31 Tabletop Bellhop Gaming Podcast

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 This is the 31st episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on February 27th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesdays at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Ep 31 - A Badge of Honour. Flying the board game geek flag, wearing the tabletop gamer badge with honour. This week we're mixing things up. Sean has a Board Game Stats review. We take a look at Tzolkin and Valeri and DC Deck Building Expansions, Dinosaur Island, Sintra, War Chest and more. [ READ MORE ]

Tzolkin and Villages of Valeria expansions. War Chest, dinosaurs, stained glass, and more – Tabletop Gaming Weekly

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The big thing for me last week was getting three expansions off my pile of shame as part of the #LessShameMoreGame challenge.

I finally got to play Tzolk'in with Tribes & Prophecies and played Villages of Valeria with the Monuments and Guild Halls expansion packs.
Along with those shameful expansions, I also got in games of Azul Stained Glass of Sintra, a medium length game of Dinosaur Island, a two player game of War Chest at my favourite coffee shop and some Race for the Galaxy on Board Game Arena. Oh, and there was a three player random dungeon in Gloomhaven. [ READ MORE ]

Blue Plate Special – Episode 25 – Tabletop Bellhop Podcast

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 This is the 25th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on January 16th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesday’s at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Ep 25 - Blue Plate Special. First up a two for one special on your food at the game table questions. We discuss the #LessShameMoreGame Challenge. Also, we talk Gizmos, Terraforming Mars Prelude, Dinosaur Island, Hogwarts Battle. The Duke and more. [ READ MORE ]

Gaming in the New Year – Episode 24 – Tabletop Bellhop Podcast

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 This is the 24th episode of Tabletop Bellhop Live, an edited version of our live show recorded on January 9th, 2019. Join us as we stream live every week on Wednesday’s at 9:30 Eastern on Twitch. If you like some video with your audio you can also watch/listen to an unedited version of the show over on YouTube.

Ep 24 - Gaming in the New Year. We are now live streaming Gloomhaven. We take a look at the classic TSR Marvel Super Heroes RPG and then we recap the games we played during Gaming in the New Year. [ READ MORE ]